Iowa House passes new voting restrictions. How they would affect you:

House lawmakers voted Tuesday to pass a bill setting an earlier deadline to return mail-in ballots, banning ballot drop boxes and letting candidates with felony convictions run for federal office in Iowa.

The Iowa House voted 62-35 Tuesday afternoon to pass House File 2610. Every Republican present voted in favor, while every Democrat was opposed. The bill now goes to the Senate, which has passed its own version out of committee.

Democrats argued the bill would suppress Iowans' votes, especially those with disabilities and older or rural voters who rely on drop boxes or mail-in voting.

"This bill makes it harder for Iowans to vote," said Rep. Amy Nielsen, D-North Liberty. "Older Iowans. Iowans with disabilities. Iowans who work two jobs because they don’t make enough money to support their family on our minimum wage. Iowans who work different shifts. Iowans who don’t have child care so that they can go out and vote on the day of."

The bill's floor manager, Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, said the bill would ensure Iowa's election system "remains the most secure in the country."

"Voter suppression from these bills is a myth," Kaufmann said. "A myth."

The bill also makes it harder for Iowans to challenge presidential candidates' place on Iowa's ballot, limiting the kinds of challenges former President Donald Trump faced in other states before the Supreme Court ruled in his favor this week. Kaufmann worked for Trump's presidential campaign in Iowa as a senior adviser.

The legislation is the latest round of election law changes since Republicans took control of the Iowa House, Senate and governor's office in 2016. Since then, GOP lawmakers have moved to require voter ID, shorten the state's early voting period and close the polls an hour earlier on Election Day.

The bill's changes to voting laws would not take effect until 2025, while the language limiting candidate challenges and allowing federal candidates convicted of felonies to appear on the ballot would take effect immediately.

Absentee ballots would have to be returned the day before Election Day in order to count

Mail-in absentee ballots would have to be returned earlier, if the bill became law.

The legislation would require mail-in ballots to be received by the county auditor's office by close of business on the day before Election Day.

Under current law, absentee ballots are accepted as long as they arrive by the time polls close on Election Day.

"This bill requires absentee ballots to be turned in the day before Election Day — the day before Election Day," said Rep. Adam Zabner, D-Iowa City. "Think about that. Someone who turns in their ballot on Election Day will not have that ballot counted. That would make us one of the most restrictive states in the country."

County auditors would also be allowed to begin mailing absentee ballots to voters two days earlier, starting 22 days before Election Day rather than 20 days under current law.

In-person early voting would remain at 20 days under the bill.

Kaufmann said the changes would allow Iowans ample time to cast their ballots.

"Five hundred and four hours," he said. "That is how much time we have to vote here in Iowa under these election integrity bills. Five hundred and four hours. Anyone can vote in that timeframe."

Democrats said data from the Iowa Secretary of State's office shows around 3,000 people turned in their absentee ballots on Election Day in 2022. Those votes would not be valid in the future if the bill becomes law.

They argued the legislation unfairly punishes Iowans whose ballots are cast on time but delayed in the mail.

"We as a state should not make it so that a person who votes one way has less of a chance for their vote to be counted than someone who votes another way," said House Minority Leader Jennifer Konfrst, D-Windsor Heights.

Counties would also be required to send voters three envelopes with every absentee ballot. While some counties do use a three-envelope system, some use just two envelopes when handling absentee ballots.

An analysis of the bill by the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency estimates that printing new envelopes could cost counties statewide about $800,000 in presidential election years and $286,000 in midterm election years.

Voters would be required to mark their absentee ballots with a four-digit voter verification number or driver's license number.

Ballot drop boxes would be banned in Iowa

County auditors would no longer be allowed to set up ballot drop boxes for Iowans to return their absentee ballots if the bill becomes law.

A wide-ranging 2021 election law currently allows county auditors to set up one drop box at the auditor's office, under video surveillance.

Kaufmann said ballot drop boxes "were a product of COVID" and they are no longer necessary.

Democrats said 13,883 Iowans voted by drop box in 2022 and they should be able to continue to choose that option.

The bill would also explicitly ban ranked-choice voting in Iowa, although the Iowa Secretary of State's office has said state law already prohibits the practice, which involves ranking each candidate in order of preference and reallocating votes to a voter's second choice candidate if their first choice fails to win a majority.

Federal candidates convicted of felonies could run for office in Iowa

Candidates for the presidency or for Congress could run for office in Iowa even if they are convicted of felonies, if the bill passes.

The legislation removes the requirement that candidates for federal office sign an affidavit attesting that they know they are disqualified from holding office if they have been convicted of a felony.

Requirements for federal candidates are set in the U.S. Constitution, and states do not have the authority to place additional requirements on federal candidates as they can with candidates for state office.

Candidates for state and local offices would still be disqualified from the ballot if they are convicted of a felony.

Ballot challenges against Donald Trump, other presidential candidates would be limited

The bill would also limit Iowans' ability to challenge presidential and congressional candidates' place on the ballot.

Political parties are required to submit a certificate with the names of their presidential and vice presidential candidates to the Iowa Secretary of State's office 81 days before the general election.

Under the bill, challenges to presidential candidates would be limited to whether that certificate meets all the legal requirements.

Candidates for other federal offices, such as Congress, could only be challenged on the candidate's age, residency, citizenship and whether their nominating papers meet all the legal requirements.

"It prevents activists from deciding who is on the ballot," Kaufmann said. "It prevents activists from subverting the will of the people."

Trump has faced challenges in several states under Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment, which bars former officials from holding office again if they "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the United States.

But those challenges appear to have largely been put to rest after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that Trump can appear on Colorado's primary ballot, reversing a decision from the state's Supreme Court that found he was disqualified.

The decision effectively cuts off the potential of using the 14th Amendment to remove Trump from other states' ballots around the country, either in the primary or general election.

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa House votes to ban ballot drop boxes, set earlier absentee deadline